ZEUS CULT 2

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ZEUS was the Olympian king of the gods and the god of sky, weather, fate, law, justice and moral conduct.

This page describes his cult in the western Peloponnese. His main shrines in the region were the sanctuary at Olympia in Elis--site of the Olympic Games--and the ancient Arkadian shrine of Mount Lykaios (Lycaeus).

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 12. 9 :
"The sanctuary of Zeus Tropaios (He who turns to flight) [in Sparta] was made by the Dorians, when they had conquered in war the Amyklaians, as well as the other Akhaians, who at that time occupied Lakonia."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 12. 11 :
"By the Canopy is a circular building [in Sparta], and in it images of Zeus and Aphrodite surnamed Olympioi. This, they say, was set up by Epimenides, but their account of him does not agree with that of the Argives, for the Lakedaimonians deny that they ever fought with the Knossians."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 13. 6 :
"[In Sparta] there is a place having its porticoes in the form of a square, where of old stuff used to be sold to the people. By this is an altar of Zeus Amboulios (Counsellor) and of Athena Amboulia (Counsellor), also of the Dioscuri, likewise surnamed Amboulioi (Counsellors)."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 17. 4 :
"As you go to the south portico [of the citadel of Sparta] there is a temple of Zeus surnamed Kosmetes (Orderer)."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 17. 6 :
"On the right of the Khalkioikos (Lady of the Bronze House) [temple of Athena on the citadel of Sparta] has been set up an image of Zeus Hypatos (Most High), the oldest image that is made of bronze. It is not wrought in one piece. Each of the limbs has been hammered separately; these are fitted together, being prevented from coming apart by nails. They say that the artist was Klearkhos of Rhegium, who is said by some to have been a pupil of Dipoenos and Skyllis, by others of [the mythical artisan] Daidalos himself."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 17. 9 :
"From this defilement [the murder of the girl Kleonike] Pausanias [an historical Spartan] could not escape, although he underwent all sorts of purifications and became a suppliant of Zeus Phyxios (God of Flight ), and finally went to the wizards at Phigalia in Arkadia but he paid a fitting penalty to Kleonike and to the god. The Lakedaimonians, in fulfillment of a command from Delphoi, had the bronze images made and honor the Daimon Epidotes (Bountiful), saying that it was this Epidotes (Bountiful) that turns aside the wrath that [Zeus] Hikesios (the God of Suppliants) shows because of Pausanias."

Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana 4. 31 (trans. Conybeare) (Greek biography C1st to 2nd A.D.) :
"The Lakedaimonians flocked around him [the prophet Apollonios of Tyana] and invited him to share the hospitality of their shrine of Zeus."

II. SCOTITAS (SKOTITAS) Village in Lacedaemonia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 10. 6 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"The name of a district [in Lakedaimonia], Skotitas (Dark), is not due to the unbroken woods but to Zeus surnamed Skotitas, and there is a sanctuary of Zeus Skotitas on the left of the road and about ten stades from it."

III. AMYCLAE (AMYKLAI) Town in Lacedaemonia

IV. PHELLIA Village in Lacedaemonia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 20. 3 :
"Turning away from the Phellia [in Lakedaimonia] to the right is the road that leads to Mount Taygetos. On the plain is a precinct of Zeus Messapeus, who is surnamed, they say, after a man who served the god as his priest."

V. CROCEAE (KROKEAI) Village in Lacedaemonia

VI. CYTHIUM (KYTHION) Village in Lacedaemonia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 22. 1 :
"Just about three stades from Kythion [in Lakedaimonia] is an unwrought stone. Legend has it that when Orestes sat down upon it his madness left him. For this reason the stone was named in the Dorian tongue Zeus Kappotes."

VII. EPIDAURUS LIMERA Village in Lacedaemonia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 23. 10 :
"Epidauros Limera [in Lakedaimonia has] a temple of . . . Zeus with the title Soter (Saviour) in front of the harbour."

VIII. SCYRAS R. (SKYRAS) River in Lacedaemonia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 25. 1 :
"Across the river [River Skyras in Lakedaimonia] is . . . an altar of Zeus."

IX. LEUCTRA (LEUKTRA) Village in Lacedaemonia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 26. 6 :
"I record an event which I know to have taken place in my time on the coast of Leuktra [in Messenia]. A fire carried by the wind into a wood destroyed most of the trees, and when the place showed bare, a statue of Zeus Ithomatos (of Ithome) was found to have been dedicated there. The Messenians say that this is evidence that Leuktra was formerly a part of Messenia. But it is possible, if the Lakedaimonians originally lived in Leuktra, that Zeus Ithomatos might be worshipped among them."

CULT IN MESSENIA (SOUTHERN GREECE)

I. MT. ITHMUS (ITHMOS) Mountain in Messenia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 31. 6 :
"A road turns to the left from the springs, and after some forty stades is the city of the Messenians under Ithome. It is enclosed by Mount Ithome . . . The Messenians possess a statue of Zeus Soter (the Saviour) in the market-place."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 33. 1 - 2 :
"On the ascent to the summit of Ithome, which is the Messenian acropolis, is a spring Klepsydra. It is a hopeless task, however zealously undertaken, to enumerate all the peoples who claim that Zeus was born and brought up among them. The Messenians have their share in the story for they too say that the god was brought up among them and that his nurses were Ithome and Neda, the river having received its name from the latter, while the former, Ithome, gave her name to the mountain. These Nymphai are said to have bathed Zeus here, after he was stolen by the Kouretes owing to the danger that threatened from his father, and it is said that it has its name from the Kouretes' theft. Water is carried every day from the spring to the sanctuary of Zeus Ithomatos (of Ithome). The statue of Zeus is the work of Ageladas and was made originally for the Messenian settlers in Naupaktos. The priest is chosen annually and keeps the image in his house. They keep an annual festival, the Ithomaia, and originally a musical contest was held. This can be gathered from the epic lines of Eumelos and other sources. Eumelos, in his processional hymn to Delos, says : ‘For dear to Ithomatos (the God of Ithome) was the Mousa, whose lute is pure and free her sandals.’ I think that he wrote the lines because he knew that they held a musical contest."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 27. 6 :
"The Thebans then sacrificed to Dionysos and Apollo Ismenios (of Ismene) in the accustomed manner, the Argives to Hera Argeia (of Argos) and Zeus Nemeios (of Nemeia), the Messenians to Zeus Ithomatos (of Ithome) and the Dioskouroi."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 3. 9 :
"[The historical Messenian king] Glaukos . . . attained to great piety. For the precinct of Zeus on the summit of Ithome, having been consecrated by [the mythical rulers] Polykaon and Messene, had hitherto received no honor among the Dorians [invaders of Messenia], and it was Glaukos who established this worship."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 12. 7 - 13. 1 :
"As the twentieth year of the [historical] war [between Sparta and Messenia] was approaching, they [the Messenians] resolved to send again to Delphoi to ask concerning victory. The Pythia made answer to their question : ‘To those who first around the altar set up tripods ten times ten to Zeus Ithomatos (of Ithome), heaven grants glory in war and the Messenian land. For thus hath Zeus ordained. Deceit raised thee up and punishment follows after, nor would'st thou deceive the god. Act as fate wills, destruction comes on this man before that.’
Hearing this they thought that the oracle was in their favour and granted them victory; for as they themselves possessed the sanctuary of Zeus Ithomata (of Ithome) within the walls, the Lakedaimonians could not forestall them in making the dedication. They set about making tripods of wood, as they had not money enough to make them of bronze. But one of the Delphians reported the oracle to Sparta. When they heard it, no plan occurred to them in public, but Oibalos, a man of no repute in general, but evidently shrewd, made a hundred tripods, as best he might, of clay, and hiding them in a bag, carried nets with them like a hunter. As he was unknown even to most of the Lakedaimonians, he would more easily escape detection by the Messenians. Joining some countrymen, he entered [the town] Ithome with them, and as soon as night fell, dedicated these tripods of clay to the god, and returned to Sparta to tell the Lakedaimonians. The Messenians, when they saw them, were greatly disturbed, thinking, rightly enough, that they were from the Lakedaimonians. Nevertheless [the Messenian leader] Aristodemus encouraged them, saying what the occasion demanded, and setting up the wooden tripods, which had already been made, round the altar of the god Ithomatos [Zeus] . . . As fate was already inclining towards the conquest of the Messenians, the god [Zeus Ithomatos] revealed to them the future. For the armed statue of Artemis, which was all of bronze, let its shield fall. And as Aristodemos was about to sacrifice the victims to Zeus Ithomatos, the rams of their own accord leapt towards the altar, and dashing their horns violently against it were killed by the force of the blow. A third portent befell them. The dogs assembled together and howled every night, and at last fled together to the camp of the Lakedaimonians. Aristodemos was alarmed by this . . . [and] seeing that no hope of safety remained for his country, slew himself upon the tomb of his child."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 20. 4 :
"The [historical] Messenians possessed a secret thing. If it were destroyed, Messene would be overwhelmed and lost for ever, but if it were kept, the oracles of Lykos the son of Pandion said that after lapse of time the Messenians would recover their country. [The Messenian leader] Aristomenes, knowing the oracles, took it towards nightfall, and coming to the most deserted part of Ithome, buried it on the mountain, calling on Zeus who keeps Ithome and the gods who had hitherto protected the Messenians to remain guardians of the pledge, and not to put their only hope of return into the power of the Lakedaimonians."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 24. 7 :
"The Athenians, realizing the feelings of the Lakedaimonians towards them, made friends therefore with the Argives, and gave Naupaktos to the Messenians besieged in Ithome, when they were allowed to depart under a truce . . . The retirement of the Messenians from Ithome was secured by the strength of the place; also the Pythia announced to the Lakedaimonians that assuredly they would be punished if they committed a crime against the suppliant of Zeus Ithomatos (of Ithome). For this reason then they were allowed to go from Peloponnesos under a truce."

II. CORONE (KORONE) Village in Messenia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 34. 6 :
"There is a statue of Zeus Soter (the Saviour) in the market-place [of Korone, Messenia] made of bronze."

CULT IN ELIS (SOUTHERN GREECE)

I. ELIS Main Town of Elis

Pausanias, Description of Greece 6. 23. 4 :
"[In the Square Gymnasium in the city of Elis] there is also dedicated here one of the images made in honor of Zeus out of the fines imposed upon Sosandros of Smyrna and upon Polyktor of Elis."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 6. 24. 3 :
"At the pillars [of the Hippodromos the market-place of the city of Elis] they also cause altars to be made to Zeus, and in the open market-place are the altars, in number not many; for, their construction being improvised, they are without difficulty taken to pieces."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 5. 1 :
"Aristotimos . . . became despot of Elis . . . a rising against him having been organized by ... Kylon it was who with his own hand killed the despot when he had sought sanctuary at the altar of Zeus Soter (the Saviour)."

II. LEPREUS Village in Elis

Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 5. 5 :
"The Lepreans [of Lepreus, Elis] told me that in their city once was a temple of Zeus Leukaios (Of the White Poplar)."

III. OLYMPIA Village & Sanctuary in Elis

The largest and most famous of the cult centres of Zeus was, of course, Olympia in Elis, home of the Olympic Games--a great athletic and religious festival held every four years in honour of the god.

Pliny the Elder, Natural History 4. 14 (trans. Rackham) (Roman encyclopedia C1st A.D.) :
"13 miles inland from Pilo [in Elis] is the shrine of Jove [Zeus] of Olympus, which owing the celebrity of its Games has taken possession of the calendar of Greece."

CULT IN ACHAEA (SOUTHERN GREECE)

I. PATRAE (PATRAI) Main Town of Achaea (Akhaia)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 20. 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"In the marketplace [of Patrai, Akhaia] is a temple of Zeus Olympios; the god himself is on a throne with Athena standing by it."

II. AEGIUM (AIGION) Town in Achaea

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 23. 9 :
"There is also [in Aigion, Akhaia] in the market-place a precinct of Zeus surnamed Soter (Saviour), with two images, both of bronze, on the left as you go in; the one without a beard seemed to me the more ancient."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 23. 10 :
"In a building right in front of the entrance [of the precinct of Zeus Soter in Aigion, Akhaia] are images, of bronze like the others, representing Poseidon, Herakles, Zeus and Athena. They are called gods from Argos. The Argives say it is because they were made in Argos; the people of Aegium themselves say that the images were deposited by the Argives with them on trust. They say further that they were ordered to sacrifice each day to the images. But bethinking themselves of a trick they sacrificed a vast number of animals, but the victims they ate up at public feasts, so that they were not put to any expense. At last the Argives asked for the images to be returned, whereupon the people of Aigion asked for the cost of the sacrifices. As the Argives had not the means to pay, they left the images at Aigion."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 24. 2 - 4 :
"By the sea at Aigion [in Akhaia] is a sanctuary of . . . Zeus Homagyrios (the Assembler). Here are images of Zeus, of Aphrodite and of Athena. The surname Assembler was given to Zeus because in this place Agamemnon assembled the most eminent men in Greece, in order that they might consult together how to make war on the empire of Priamos. Among the claims of Agamemnon to renown is that he destroyed Troy and the cities around her with the forces that followed him originally, without any later reinforcements . . . Even in my time the Akhaian assembly still meets at Aigion, just as the Amphiktyones do at Thermopylai and at Delphoi."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 24. 4 :
"There are at Aigion [in Akhaia] other images made of bronze, Zeus as a boy and Herakles as a beardless youth, the work of Ageladas of Argos. Priests are elected for them every year, and each of the two images remains at the house of the priest. In a more remote age there was chosen to be priest for Zeus from the boys he who won the prize for beauty. When his beard began to grow the honor for beauty passed to another boy. Such were the customs."

III. AEGEIRA (AIGEIRA) Town in Achaea

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 26. 4 :
"The sights of Aigeira [in Akhaia] worth recording include a sanctuary of Zeus with a sitting image of Pentelic marble, the work of Eukleides the Athenian."

CULT IN ARCADIA (SOUTHERN GREECE)

I. MEGALOPOLIS Main City of Arcadia (Arkadia)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 30. 2 :
"The river Helisson divides Megalopolis [in Arkadia] . . . and in the north section, on the right as one looks down the river, the townsfolk have made their market-place. In it is an enclosure of stones and a sanctuary of Zeus Lykaios (Of the Wolf), with no entrance into it. The things inside, however, can be seen--altars of the god, two tables, two eagles, and an image of Pan made of stone."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 30. 10 :
"Quite near to this portico [of Aristandros in Megalopolis, Arkadia], on the east, is a sanctuary of Zeus, surnamed Soter (Saviour). It is adorned with pillars round it. Zeus is seated on a throne, and by his side stand Megalopolis on the right and an image of Artemis Soteira (Saviour) on the left. These are of Pentelic marble and were made by the Athenians Kephisodotos and Xenophon."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 31. 4 :
"Within the precinct [of Demeter at Megalopolis in Arkadia] is a temple of Zeus Philios (Friendly). Polykleitos of Argos made the image; it is like Dionysos in having buskins as footwear and in holding a beaker in one hand and a thyrsos in the other, but an eagle sitting on the thyrsos does not fit in with the received accounts of Dionysos."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 36. 5 :
"Passing through the gate at Megalopolis named the Gate to the Marsh, and proceeding by the side of the river Helisson towards Mainalos, there stands on the left of the road a temple of Theos Agathos (the Good God). If the gods are givers of good things to men, and if Zeus is supreme among gods, it would be consistent to infer that this surname is that of Zeus."

II. MT. LYCAEUS (LYKAIOS) Mountain in Arcadia

Plato, Republic 565d (trans. Shorey) (Greek philosopher C4th B.C.) :
"The legend that is told of the shrine of Zeus Lykaios in Arckadia . . . The story goes that he who tastes of the one bit of human entrails minced up with those of other victims is inevitably transformed into a wolf. Have you not heard the tale?"

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 2. 1 - 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Lykaon the son of Pelasgos [mythical early king of Arkadia] devised the following plans, which were more clever than those of his father. He founded the city Lykosoura on Mount Lykaios [in Arkadia], gave to Zeus the surname Lykaios (of the Wolf) and founded the Lykaia Games. I hold that the Panathenaia festival was not founded before the Lykaia . . . My view is that Lykaon [founder of the Lykaia festival] was contemporary with Kekrops [founder of the Athenaia festival], the king of Athens, but that they were not equally wise in matters of religion. For Kekrops was the first to name Zeus Hypatos (the Supreme god), and refused to sacrifice anything that had life in it, but burnt instead on the altar the national cakes . . . But Lykaon brought a human baby to the altar of Zeus Lykaios, and sacrificed it, pouring out its blood upon the altar, and according to the legend immediately after the sacrifice he was changed from a man to a wolf (Lykos). I for my part believe this story; it has been a legend among the Arkadians from of old, and it has the additional merit of probability. For the men of those days, because of their righteousness and piety, were guests of the gods, eating at the same board; the good were openly honored by the gods, and sinners were openly visited with their wrath . . . So one might believe that Lykaon was turned into a beast."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 38. 2 - 7 :
"[In Arkadia] is Mount Lykaios. Some Arkadians call it Olympos, and others Hieros (Sacred Peak). On it, they say, Zeus was reared. There is a place on Mount Lykaios called Kretea, on the left of the grove of Apollon surnamed Parrhasios. The Arkadians claim that the Krete, where the Kretan story has it that Zeus was reared, was this place and not the island. The Nymphai, by whom they say that Zeus was reared, they call Theisoa, Neda and Hagno. After Theisoa was named a city in Parrhasia; Theisoa to-day is a village in the district of Megalopolis. From Neda the river Neda takes its name; from Hagno a spring on Mount Lykaios, which like the Danube flows with an equal volume of water in winter just as in the season of summer. Should a drought persist for a long time, and the seeds in the earth and the trees wither, then the priest of Zeus Lykaios, after praying towards the water and making the usual sacrifices, lowers an oak branch to the surface of the spring, not letting it sink deep. When the water has been stirred up there rises a vapor, like mist; after a time the mist becomes cloud, gathers to itself other clouds, and makes rain fall on the land of the Arkadians. There is on Mount Lykaios a sanctuary of Pan, and a grove of trees around it, with a race-course in front of which is a running-track. Of old they used to hold here the Lykaia Games. Here there are also bases of statues, with now no statues on them . . .
Among the marvels of Mount Lykaios the most wonderful is this. On it is a precinct of Zeus Lykaios, into which people are not allowed to enter. If anyone takes no notice of the rule and enters, he must inevitably live no longer than a year. A legend, moreover, was current that everything alike within the precinct, whether beast or man, cast no shadow. For this reason when a beast takes refuge in the precinct, the hunter will not rush in after it, but remains outside, and though he sees the beast can behold no shadow. In Syene also just on this side of Aethiopia neither tree nor creature casts a shadow so long as the sun is in the constellation of the Crab, but the precinct on Mount Lykaios affects shadows in the same way always and at every season.
On the highest point of the mountain is a mound of earth, forming an altar of Zeus Lykaios, and from it most of the Peloponnesos can be seen. Before the altar on the east stand two pillars, on which there were of old gilded eagles. On this altar they sacrifice in secret to Zeus Lykaios. I was reluctant to pry into the details of the sacrifice; let them be as they are and were from the beginning.
On the east side of the mountain there is a sanctuary of Apollon surnamed Parrhasios . . . To the north of Mount Lykaios is the Theisoan territory. The inhabitants of it worship most the Nymphe Theisoa [the nurse of Zeus]."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 22. 7 :
"The Arkadians stoned Aristokrates to death [for betraying the Messenians to the Spartans, historical] and flung him beyond their borders without burial, and set up a tablet in the precinct of Zeus Lykaios with the words : ‘Truly time hath declared justice upon an unjust king and with the help of Zeus hath easily declared the betrayer of Messene. Hard it is for a man forsworn to hide from God. Hail, king Zeus, and keep Arkadia safe.’"

Pausanias, Description of Greece 6. 8. 2 :
"As to the boxer [of the Olympic Games], by name Damarkhos, an Arkadian of Parrhasia, I cannot believe (except, of course, his Olympic victory) what romancers say about him, how he changed his shape into that of a wolf at the sacrifice of Zeus Lykaios (Wolf), and how nine years after he became a man again."

Pliny the Elder, Natural History 4. 21 (trans. Rackham) (Roman encyclopedia C1st A.D.) :
"The mountains in Arcadia are . . . Lycaeus on which is a shrine of Jove [Zeus] Lycaeus."

III. MANTINEIA Town in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 9. 2 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"The Mantineans [of Mantineia, Arkadia] have other sanctuaries also, one of Zeus Soter (Saviour), and one of Zeus Epidotes (Giver of Gifts), in that he gives good things to men."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 12. 1 :
"[Near Mantineia, Arkadia] is a sanctuary of Zeus surnamed Kharmon. The oaks in the groves of the Arkadians are of different sorts; some of them are called ‘broad-leaved’, others ‘edible oaks.’ A third kind have a porous bark, which is so light that they actually make from it floats for anchors and nets. The bark of this oak is called ‘cork’ by the Ionians, for example by Hermesianax, the elegiac poet."

IV. ALIPHERA Village in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 26. 6 :
"The city of Aliphera [in Arkadia has] . . . set up an altar of Zeus Lekheates (In child-bed), because here he gave birth to Athena. There is a stream they call Tritonis, adopting the story about the river Triton."

V. GORTYS Village in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 28. 2 :
"Through Gortys [in Arkadia] flows a river called by those who live around its source the Lousios (Bathing River), because Zeus after his birth was bathed in it; those farther from the source call it the Gortynios after the village. The water of this Gortynios is colder than that of any other river."

VI. Near ACACESIUM (AKAKESION) Village in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 37. 1 :
"As you go to the temple [of Despoine near Akakesion, Arkadia] there is a portico on the right, with reliefs of white marble on the wall. On the first relief are wrought the Moirai (Fates) and Zeus surnamed Moiragetes (Guide of Fate)."

VII. TEGEA Town in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 48. 6 :
"There is also [in Tegea, Arkadia] an altar of Zeus Teleios (Full-grown), with a square image, a shape of which the Arcadians seem to me to be exceedingly fond."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 53. 9 :
"The lofty place, on which are most of the altars of the Tegeans [of Tegea, Arkadia], is called the place of Zeus Klarios (Of Lots), and it is plain that the god got his surname from the lots cast for the sons of Arkas [for the division of Arkadia]. Here the Tegeans celebrate a feast every year. It is said that once at the time of the feast they were invaded by the Lakedaimonians. As it was snowing, these were chilled, and thus distressed by their armour, but the Tegeans, without their enemies knowing it, lighted a fire. So untroubled by the cold they donned, they say, their armour, went out against the Lakedaimonians, and had the better of the engagement."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 53. 11 :
"On the left of the road as you go from Tegea to Lakonia there is an altar of Pan, and likewise one of Zeus Lykaios [of Mount Lykaios]."